Push Play – Take 4 | Midnight Movie

Chapter 4 | Midnight Movie

Midnight Movie

In the United States, a midnight movie is a B movie or cult film shown at midnight, either at a cinema or on television. The practice started in the 1950s with local television stations around the United States airing low-budget genre films as late-night programming, often with a host delivering sardonic asides.

The screening of non-mainstream pictures at midnight was aimed at building a cult film audience, encouraging repeat viewing and social interaction in what was originally a countercultural setting. The term midnight movie is now often used in two different, though related, ways: as a synonym for B movie, reflecting the relative cheapness characteristic of late-night movies both theatrically and on TV, and as a synonym for cult film.

Neverland, a couple of days later

Michael had to admit, Lisa was right. His private quarters at Neverland were indeed a bit of a mess. And finding all the tapes he knew were scattered about between the ground floor and the first floor was not as easy at it initially seemed. He found a couple in the bathroom and wondered how the heck they had ended up there. Another one was in one of his drawers, buried under a pile of socks. Some others were up on a shelf – dusty tapes he didn’t even remember having shot at all and that produced butterflies in his stomach the moment he realized what they contained.

“M+L New Years Eve 94/95”

“Lake Como 1998”

He smiled looking at the scribbled labels, then cleared his throat and turned serious again, placing the tapes on the table.

His research also produced some footage shot in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, in 1993 – during those first, blissful months before his relationship with Lisa became public – and something else about Christmas 1997. The only problem was, none of those tapes were x-rated. Quite the opposite, in fact. They included private moments for sure, but they were… familial. Intimate. Just ordinary moments that any couple would want to remember and relive forever. Birthdays celebrations, Christmas dinners, New Year’s Eves, fireworks, holidays…

Michael scratched his head and tried very, very hard to remember where he had put the footage that immortalized his most passion-filled moments with Lisa, because he was very sure that he still had those tapes somewhere. Besides, all of a sudden he had become a bit paranoid, and the idea of not knowing where that stuff was, and having Zoe – and someone from his staff – coming and going freely was slightly unsettling. Experience had taught him that even the closest friends and allies could turn into enemies in the bat of an eyelid, especially if the timing was convenient. And with the news of the leaked footage out there, he could not swear that some of the people surrounding him wouldn’t be trying to pull something on him, maybe in the hope of making money by providing some more torrid material. And this time to the paps.

So yeah… He had to find those damn tapes. And quickly.

He was glad he had sent Zoe away, telling her that he would need a few days to sort out some business. She had actually started spending the night at Neverland only lately, and just because she had insisted to the point that he hadn’t had the heart to keep saying no. But right now he really didn’t want to have her around, because he had no idea how long it would take to find what he was looking for. And he was the only one who should put his hands on that footage anyway.

Well… he, or Lisa. He could definitely trust her with the whole matter. For a moment, Michael considered the idea of calling his ex-wife and asking her to come over and help him out. But then he remembered that she didn’t want to sail across the ocean of collectibles, books, records and everything in between that filled up his private quarters. And sure as hell he didn’t need her to nag him to death accusing him of being a hoarder. ‘Cause he was not! So yeah, he had to sort this out on his own.

It took him about eighteen hours. After turning his private quarters upside down and getting more and more frustrated and worried by the second, Michael found exactly zip. Zero. Absolutely nothing. Sitting on the floor, over dozens of scattered books and CDs, he tried hard not to panic. What if someone had already taken what they needed from his property? What if he couldn’t find the tapes because they were no longer there and someone else had them now?

Shaking his head, he tried hard to focus. No, that was impossible. If he couldn’t remember where they were because it had been a long-ass time since the last time he had seen them, it meant that nobody could have noticed him handling them. And whoever might be looking for those tapes would be as confused as he was by the mess. So the only thing left to do was to keep focusing and think about the most absurd place where the tapes could be.

And then the answer came like a flash of genius: the Hideout. It totally made sense!

Sure, Michael loved Neverland, it was the place he had built for himself and that most represented his inner child. But it was also a business place, a property where he would receive businesspeople, discussed his career, had guests, friends and family members coming and going all the time. And probably that was why his most sensitive video material involving Lisa was not there.

The Hideout, on the other hand… the Hideout was another place entirely, representing his other soul. It was his “grown-up” place. Precious, private, secluded. There was a reason why he called it that way, after all. And although he and Lisa had spent some amazing, magnificent moments at Neverland, since the beginning of their relationship the Hideout had been their place of choice whenever they needed to spend some quality time as a couple. The one place where no staff was ever around while he was there and he and his woman could be on their own and do whatever they pleased. So yeah, thinking about it now it made all the sense in the world that the tapes could be there.

And if they weren’t… Michael exhaled a shaky breath as shivers ran down his spine. If that stuff wasn’t there either, he was such in deep shit.

Putting all the footage he had found so far in a backpack, Michael made a quick phone call and asked his staff to get the car ready in an hour. Then he went to play with his kids for a bit.

Meanwhile, at Hidden Hills

It took exactly eighteen minutes, to Lisa, to search and find all the tapes she had of her time with Michael. She knew exactly where everything was. The most sensitive material – included the footage that had so mysteriously leaked on the internet – was in her safe, inside the walk-in closet in her bedroom. It consisted of seven tapes spanning from May 1994 to Valentine’s Day 1998. They immortalized moments that, no matter how hard she tried to refuse the idea, were still extremely precious to her. And probably always would be.

She did have some other footage, though, although not x-rated. And that was in her private studio, the one she would use as a home office at the mansion. Those tapes, eight total, were kept into a false-bottomed suitcase placed into a locked drawer.

There. All done!

Michael loved to make fun of her, calling her a neat freak, but she bet right now he was sweating bullets trying to find his own stuff. He loved to play it cool, but the truth was that not only he was an extremely messy man, but also tended to be quite forgetful. She had read somewhere that being very forgetful meant to be a genius, and Lisa was well aware that Michael was, in fact, a real prodigy. However, her mind still couldn’t process how being a genius had anything to do with having even your underwear or socks in the most unlikely places in the house.

She still remembered one specific occasion when Michael had almost set the kitchen on fire because he had “inadvertently” left a pair of boxers in the oven. Where she had been baking a cake.

She still recalled him storming out, near the pool, where she had been sunbathing for a bit.

“Lisa!! Do we have a… like, fire extinguisher somewhere?”

She had removed her sunglasses.

“What? Why?”

“Because…” He had blushed. “I think your cake is on fire, baby.”

“Is there a double meaning I’m supposed to get?” Her gaze had dropped to his crotch and, for a second, she had wondered if he was trying to tell her that he wanted to get laid and he was speaking in some weird code. But no. The moment she had really stared at him, she had realized that he meant exactly what he had said.

She had jumped on her feet and together they had run back inside the house, and there it was: the little inferno in the oven. For a second she had just stood there in disbelief.

“Lisa! Fire extinguisher? Focus, for God’s sake!”

“What’s in there? What’s burning?! What the fuck?!”

“The cake’s burning! Fire extinguisher?”

Her mind had become a blur. Fire extinguisher? It was probably somewhere, but she had no idea where. So she had grabbed a pitcher of water, she had pulled the oven door open and then she had thrown the water into the black smoke before it suffocated both her and Michael. Death by burned cake. Hilarious for the press.

The moment the smoke had finally started to thin out, she had realized what had happened. Risk of death by burned underwear. Even better…

“Michael…”

“How did it happen?”

She had turned to look at him and he had shrugged. He was asking her?

“I mean… How is it even possible that it caught fire?”

“Michael, do I look like a fucking fire chief to you?” Using a fork, she had retrieved what was left of his underwear from the oven. “…What about this pair of boxers?”

He had blushed again. “Don’t even say it. I got no idea how they ended up in there.”

“Seriously? Could it be that you were checking on the cake while you were holding your underwear, only God knows why, and then you like… I don’t know… abandoned it in the oven or something?” She knew that was precisely what had transpired, but Michael had just given her another shoulder shrug.

“I don’t remember doing that, but… Could be.”

Staring into space for a moment, realizing the absurdity of the whole situation, Lisa had just shaken her head. She wasn’t even mad.

“By the way… Why do we call underwear a pair when it’s just one item?” She had always wondered, after all.

Michael had come up behind her, closing his arms around her waist and actually giggling at the sight of the burned thing. Then he had kissed her neck sweetly, making her melt in his embrace. She never could be mad at him for this kind of shit.

“Because I need a pair of boxers for my pair of ba-”

“Shush!” Giggling, she had reached back and had covered his mouth with her hand.

Yeah… Those were really happy times, and thinking about what was long gone wasn’t helpful, now. Sighing, Lisa observed all her tapes, neatly placed on her desk, then realized that she needed to make sure Michael had found his, too.

So she sent him a text. She avoided thinking about the fact that, since this whole mess had started, they had effectively started talking again, although more often than not through text messages and not in person. Seeing him at the restaurant had been jarring enough, to the point that she had hauled ass way earlier than planned and without even touching her food. Yes, finding out about that threatening message had been disconcerting, but being alone with Michael had felt even more heartbreaking than she was willing to admit. Conflicting and confusing.

He seemed to swindle between being the thoughtful, tender man she remembered and someone else she did not know any longer. At one point, he had just looked at her with an intensity that had made her feel more naked than any sex tape, but then the conversation had switched to their respective new partners. And he had made sure to point out that he was doing “just fine” with… whatshername. Yes, she had provoked him a bit, but still… It had hurt like hell to realize that he probably had moved on for real. Although she too had a new life set for herself and he was no longer part of it.

Well… technically, Michael was still part of her life, given that they were now in this mess together. So after all, what bad could it do to check in on him and make sure no other footage was buried or lost somewhere?

Taking a deep breath, Lisa grabbed her phone.

Did you find them?

Then she just waited for him to respond. And he didn’t make her wait for long.

Believe it or not, I did

Another minute passed, and then he sent another text.

Wasnt easy tho.
You were right
My private quarters are a mess!

Lisa had to smile.

So were they all there?

This time, Michael replied right away.

I found stuff at neverland
Think you might wanna see it
Then the most private footage wasnt

Nothing else. Lisa frowned.

Wasnt??

Wasnt there

So? What was that supposed to mean? That they were fucked?

So u didnt find everything did u

Her heart sank. God… this was even worse than she had imagined! She hoped and prayed she wouldn’t be forced to go to Neverland personally and sail the sea of shit Michael had stuffed in his apartments!

No I told you I did
Only it wasnt at neverland
It was at the hideout

Lisa let go a breath she didn’t know she had been holding. Finally relaxing in the chair, she leaned her head back and closed her eyes. The beeping sound of another incoming message almost startled her.

Did you find yours?

Was he serious? Who did he think he was talking to?

Of course I did

Lil control freak 
I knew it :-)

Lisa smiled again, her fingers moving quickly on the small keyboard.

So, what you got? 
Tell me

Stuff
Do you know why it was at the hideout

Did she know why his stuff was at the Hideout? Was that a trick question? His stuff was everywhere! As a matter of fact, she was pretty sure she still had some of his clothes at Hidden Hills too. Not because she had always refused to send them back or throw them away, of course. Only because she had forgotten all about them…

Let me check my crystal ball
Because u forgot ‘em there
Am I right

Once again, he replied within seconds – as if he was enjoying their little exchange. Just like she did. Even a little too much, maybe…

No you aint right
In fact you aint even funny

Nothing else. Lisa frowned. How was she supposed to interpret that? Had she hurt his feelings? She snorted.

So?!?

Because unlike your vintage little ass
I got a digitalized version of all those tapes
HA!

She rolled her eyes. Alright… Let him be a baby.

Good for u
So ho many you got

:-D

What was so funny now?

What u laughing at?

Ho?

Are u out of ur mind M?

You wrote ho
Instead of how

…A baby, indeed. And yet she couldn’t refrain from chuckling, since the spelling lesson came from Mister “Redicoulouse.”

OK HOW many
Gosh

16
What abt you

Sixteen fucking tapes? Had they been so obsessed with videotaping everything? Well… Yeah, probably.

7

7? then I won

Right. Everything was a competition with Michael.

U sure u got *all* of them Mike?

This time his response took a little longer than expected, and she knew why. He was not sure.

Possibly

What do u mean possibly

I mean possibly

Lisa pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath.

Was the mess worse than u expected
At neverland

Yup

Her thumbs hovered above the keyboard and itched. No way in the world. Nope. She was not going to offer. Not a chance in the world.

Want me to help u out

Yes. 
Come tommorow

The error in spelling told her that he was happy. While she… well, she was probably fucked.

And so she drove over to Neverland the next day, early in the afternoon. She informed Roman via phone, because he was in Austria for some business venture she had been too distracted to fully grasp. Even over the phone, however, his calm disposition and peaceful demeanor had soothed and comforted her, although for a moment she wondered – possibly for the first time since they had become a couple – how it was even possible that he seemed so wholly unfazed knowing that his girlfriend would be alone with her ex. Her charming, sexy, tantalizing ex-husband and ex-lover. In his own private quarters.

Eventually, Lisa had decided that it was merely because her relationship with Roman was based on very wise foundations: maturity, trust, freedom. All beautiful qualities. She should be happy – and proud of having such a man by her side. And yet, the highlight of her day wasn’t about finding amazing benefits in her new relationship, but driving through the golden gates of Neverland.

The moments the guards let her in without a fuss, like the good old times, the feeling was almost unreal, and she felt like the main star of one of those old midnight movies… low budget and cheesy. Only, this was not fiction. This was the reality. And she was not there for anything remotely pleasurable. This new meeting with Michael was nothing but business in the middle of a digital shitstorm.

He was waiting for her in front of the main mansion, hands in his pockets. Black pants and a black tuxedo jacket, casually thrown over a plain V-neck t-shirt. And he looked… well…

Amazing.

His usual self. A bit heavier than usual, maybe, but some extra pounds actually looked so good on him.

The moment she finally stepped out of the car, he smiled at her and his black eyes shone in the afternoon light. He looked genuinely happy to see her and Lisa felt the warmth emanating from his dark irises. That was Michael’s specialty. He mastered the art of keeping his features cool and collected, often inscrutable, but his eyes really were a mirror to his soul and an open book, if you knew how to read them. Just like now. Her smiling back at him was nothing but a natural, inevitable consequence.

She had to admit, there had always been an allure about him. Something unique, that she had noticed right from the beginning of their friendship and even before their involvement became romantic. The sheer vision of him used to stir all kinds of sensations inside, physical and otherwise. And even now, as he slowly started walking over to her, the old magic resurfaced and Lisa was held captive by his aura for a second. She felt something- her nerve endings tingled and she wasn’t doing anything. Only watching him. Atoms froze, the air itself seemed to stop for a minute and she just stood there, utterly unable to detach herself from the alchemy.

“Lisa Marie… Thanks for coming…” He opened his arms in a hopeless fashion and shrugged. “…And I am sorry, I know clutter triggers your… ah… anxiety, but I think two sets of eyes might help in this case.”

Lisa started walking with him toward the mansion.

“Hello, Mike. Don’t worry about it. I just attended a yoga class. I should be fine.”

“Just to let you know – we’re on our own. I sent the staff home for today.”

“Why?”

“Because they don’t need to know about the whole matter and I don’t want them to intrude.”

“Makes sense… The kids?”

“At Jackie’s.”

“Oh… OK.”

“So… is your boyfriend alright with you being here?”

Whoa. That was a sudden full frontal attack and she was totally unprepared! Somehow she managed to keep a cool facade.

“Why shouldn’t he be?”

Michael pushed his hands back in his pockets and shook his head. “I don’t know. Because. I wouldn’t want you anywhere near your exes…”

He sure didn’t. He had never liked it when Danny was around much. The fact that at that point he was nothing but a friend hadn’t mattered.

“Well, Roman doesn’t care. He trusts me.”

“Good for him…” Michael opened the door for her, and she stepped into his private quarters. And she had to admit, it all looked way neater than she had imagined. Not perfect, but certainly acceptable. Glancing around, in her peripheral vision she noticed the amused look on his face.

“So? The cat got your tongue?”

“Wipe that stupid ass grin off your face. I’m just surprised, that’s all.”

“Yeah? Well, get ready for the best part then: believe it or not, I did it all by myself.”

This time Lisa turned and looked at him. “No staff involved?”

“Nope.”

“How did you manage to accomplish the feat?”

Michael snorted. “I know how to clean up if I want to, you know…”

“If you say so…” She slowly walked over to the fireplace and noticed the framed picture on the mantel. Michael, with Riley and Ben. All smiles and happiness. And hope for the future. She swallowed. “Good job, Michael.”

“Thank you…” His voice almost startled her. She noticed that he was now standing next to her.

Lisa touched the picture very lightly, as if it burned.

“Is Petunia OK with this?”

“Zoe…”

Was that another amused glint in his eyes?

“Same thing…”

He didn’t answer, and just sauntered over to the floor-to-ceiling bookcase. “I think we should start from here. You know I got a thing for hiding my compact disks in books…”

Lisa stared at him with a serious look on her face. “Michael… Did you really take care of all the mess on your own?”

“Yeah, why?”

In the perpetual dance that their relationship was, no matter what shape it took, it was her turn to step closer to him. “You shouldn’t overexert. Your back…”

Her concerned eyes made him feel vulnerable and his gaze dropped on his own shoes. “Don’t worry about that. I was careful. I just wanted to make it all easier. Messy stuff irritates you. You don’t like messiness, Lise. You need stuff neat and organized… And I thought it would be easier and quicker this way.”

“Well, that was very… thoughtful of you. Thank you.”

“No, thank you. I really could use some help here.”

The moment was charged with some weird electricity and she knew it was dangerous. It was time to step back. Lisa took off her jacket, threw it on the couch and rolled up the sleeves of her shirt.

“Well, I’m here. Let’s do this.”

If the previous day had been frustrating, for Michael, the afternoon with Lisa was utterly entertaining. They spent hours scanning his quarters and, knowing him most than many other people in the world, she was intuitive enough to guess places he had never even thought about.

A bit after six in the evening they were basically done and three more tapes were now neatly placed on the table. They had also found a CD on the top shelf of Michael’s bookcase. Lisa had climbed up the ladder while he held the bottom of it and of course, he had been unable to stop staring at another bottom. The one right above his head. Man… That girl had an ass that just would not quit. Sudden sensory memories assaulted him with the force of a hurricane. Him making love to Lisa from behind, or simply kissing a path down her naked back and to those firm, round globes. He had to shake his head to rattle his brain back into place.

“Hey! I think I found one!”

Her giddy tone snapped him back to reality.

“Yeah?” His voice sounded slightly higher than usual.

“Yeah! Here… Take this…” She had tossed the tape at him. “Careful, move away… I’m coming down…”

Turning the tape in his hands, he noticed the label: London – July 97.

“Lise… I think you just found the missing x-rated material!”

“For real?” Pulling her hair back and tying them in a loose ponytail, she too inspected the label. In the process, she touched his hand lightly. “Oh… wow.”

“Yeah. I thought it had to be somewhere. Just not here…”

“Didn’t you say you had all that footage on CD?”

“Well… I think this one got lost somehow… ‘cause it ain’t at the Hideout for sure.”

For a moment, they just stayed quiet and remembered what possibly was contained in that tape. During their hot reconnection in London, where she had reached him as he was busy with his tour, they basically had gone through a no holds barred kind of affair. They had been so high on one another, on the idea of finally being together again, that they had not cared at all about what the press, their families, or Debbie might think. Not in public, and certainly not in private. And right now she suddenly remembered Michael taking out his camera on their last night before she flew back to Los Angeles. A night which had not involved any sleep. He had smiled at her: “I’m gonna give you this tape… when you leave. So you always remember what we have… You and I… Before I see you again.”

It was weird, now, to realize that the footage was still in his possession. But that was their life together: they blended and mixed, two souls becoming one so often that it was not surprising that even their items were so often misplaced. Just like Michael’s clothes in her closet, at Hidden Hills. And her heart, which had been wherever he was for a very long time.

“So you think we got ‘em all now?” Lisa struggled a bit to return to the here and now and glanced up at him. Michael blinked, and whatever remoteness was in his eyes and had been holding him captive just moved back, beneath those black mirrors.

“I think so, yeah…”

Sighing, she stepped back.

“Great. Cool! Teamwork pays off!” She went back to the couch and grabbed her jacket, all the while smiling as she heard Michael’s giggle behind her back.

“Yeah, it does. You and I always have worked well together.” He cleared his throat. “Hey… are you leaving already? Again?”

He was talking about their lunch at the Mélisse, which had been way shorter than initially planned.

“Yeah… I mean, we’re done here, right? So I thought, you know… that I should probably get going…” She put on her jacket hesitantly. “…or something.” The last words came out mumbled and flat.

“Are the kids waiting for you?”

“No, they’re with their dad. But still…” She fiddled with her purse, pulling the zipper open.

On the other hand, Michael seemed remarkably calm even while facing her sudden retreat.

“Lisa… You know what? I was thinking… aren’t you hungry? After all this workout…”

She rummaged through her purse looking for… nothing, really. No, she was not hungry. But all of a sudden she was thinking about some more entertaining ways to work up an appetite. Maybe she should just go back to Hidden Hills, call Roman and ask him to have some lurid phone sex.

Yeah… not likely.

“I am indeed a bit hungry,” she lied. “Why?”

He just tilted his head nonchalantly. “Well, why don’t we just order some food from that little Persian restaurant we like and we chill for a bit in the movie theater…” He pointed at the tapes. “…And take a look at those? I mean, what’s work without a little fun?”

And it was, indeed, a great idea.

The movie theater at Neverland held some lovely memories, too. It had been the silent spectator of several lovemaking sessions through their dating days and their marriage, but it had also been a romantic place where they would just spend hours watching old, black and white movies on the huge screen. They loved old-style Hollywood classics.

Sometimes they would joke around like teenagers, tossing popcorn at each other and hiding behind the chairs, while some other times they just cuddled and snuggled in their quiet, unperturbed peace. And on a few occasions… well, passion would take over and they would make love there. In the darkness. The Dolby Surround system a perfect auditory background for their encounters. The lights flickering on their half-naked bodies heightening the whole sensory experience.

That evening, they did watch some of the tapes on the huge screen, all the while munching on some takeaway food that tasted like their long-gone past. To Lisa, it felt like a portal between yesterday and tomorrow, and she wondered if she was stuck in a today where she herself was nothing but a spectator in her own life. Watching everything from afar… The mature man at her side… Her business and routine… Her kids, growing up faster than she was hoped…

And her ex-husband. Who, ultimately, had been the love of her life, and she knew it.

Michael always seemed to be surging forward and remain the same. It was bizarre. He was mobile like water and yet eternal like a statue. Her running around and tossing and trashing, exhausting herself while trying to pretend he had not shattered and resurrected her heart so many times looked very foolish all of a sudden.

Glancing at him, she saw him play with his Kookoo Sib Zamini while slowly chewing some potato patties, eyes fixed on the screen. Following his gaze, she watched a huge and younger version of herself emerge from the sparkling blue waters and saunter over to whoever held the camera. Michael, obviously.

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, 1993.

She remembered. She recalled how, later that evening, he had peeled that coral red bikini off her body. She could also tell how desperately in love she was with him already, from the way she looked at him through the camera.

“Stop filming!”

“Why? You’re so gorgeous…”

“And you’re fixated! Stop filming!”

On screen, the younger Lisa stepped closer and the camera began to tilt. Some commotion, and then the unmistakable sound of Michael’s laugh. Then of his kisses. Of her squirming. Then purring. The camera fell on the sand, sideways, and kept recording the sea, the crashing waves, as laughter and unintelligible words kept going and going in the background.

Lisa’s gaze dropped and she put her food box on the floor.

“Hey… Don’t you like your Kuku?”

She turned to him and chuckled, noticing his eyes laugh at her despite his serious face.

“My what?”

“Your Kuku.”

“What’s that?”

“Gimme that thing…” He leaned over to grab the food box and she glanced down at his head so very close to her legs. The scent of his cologne wrapped itself around her and the warmth emanating from his body made her feel hot. Michael took the box and straightened up, relaxing into his seat. “Kuku. You want it all the time, and you still haven’t learned what it is called?”

“I know exactly what it’s called. Frittata.”

He smiled.

“Close enough. It is made with eggs, only it has way more greens.” He put a forkful in his mouth and stared at her with that grin on his face.

“Hey! That’s my food!” Lisa tried to snatch the box from his hands and he held it up over his head, giggling.

“It was on that floor. That’s my floor. Therefore the food is mine.”

Oh, he was trying to bait her now, but she was not falling in his trap. She knew how he operated and was afraid of the outcome. Afraid she would like it too much.

“Gosh, you’re such a Y-chromosome cliche… You know what? You can have it.” She showed him her hands in a surrendering gesture. “You can have it all, Mike. I give up.”

Slowly, he put the box back in his lap and took another forkful.

“It’s real good.”

“I know it is… You moron.”

He chuckled again, his head tilting in delight. He was having so much fun… And she had to admit, she was, too. Despite pretending to be huffy.

“Look – I appreciate your generosity. Let me reward you…” This time, he grabbed another food box from the next seat and opened it. Lisa glanced at the slice of pomegranate cheesecake and kept her face immobile.

“I don’t want your stupid cake. You can have that too. See if I care.”

Michael snorted. Yeah, sure. Lisa had a sweet tooth like no tomorrow, and he knew it. He carefully used the fork to cut the very tip of the slice and held it out to her.

“Open your mouth…”

The low, seductive tone in his voice didn’t help her keep up the appearances of a bothered, annoyed… what? Ex-something? Friend? Acquaintance?

Before she could muster up the willpower to retract and take cover again, she was already complying and Michael turned his torso to her, rested his elbow on the armrest of her seat and leaned closer. In the dim light of the theater, he fed her that bit of cheesecake with maximum attention and studied slowness. His eyes remained tethered on hers for a bit, then fell on her lips, finally moved up again.

“Is it good?”

Lisa nodded her head ever so slightly.

“Want another bite?”

Another nod. She felt in a haze. Obviously, someone had spiked the damn thing with some powerful, mind-altering drug.

Damn…

Was that how two exes who had almost torn each other to pieces less than a year earlier were supposed to behave? Weren’t they a bit too old for these silly games? Well… age was nothing but a number, but still…

At the third forkful of cake directed toward her mouth, Lisa reached up and gently covered Michael’s hand with her own. He let go of the fork and it was her turn to feed him. It was as if an invisible rubber band kept them connected and the thing she feared the most was that it would break, sending them apart once again.

Michael’s gaze fell on her lips once again. His free hand came up and the back of his fingers touched her jaw. Lisa’s eyes fluttered closed for a moment, and it was like everything else around the two of them disappeared in the darkness. They were now in a world made of two plushy red seats and nothing else. And a part of her just wanted to stay there forever.

When she opened her eyes again, Michael’s were half-closed and a little glazed over.

“Do you like it?” She spoke the words with a voice that was way throatier than intended. His was no better.

“Really a lot…” His hand brushed her hair, then her ear and it felt like being plugged into a wall socket.

He licked his lips and she suddenly felt as if the temperature in the theater had reached the boiling point. Her forehead touched his, ever so slightly, and she held her breath, bracing for impact. Ready for it and scared shitless at the same time. Then, as she could already feel his breath against her lips, he slowly turned his face and kissed her cheek instead. She could tell it took him so much effort to do that. To place that soft, lingering kiss that almost made her feel like crying. When he backed off again, his eyes seemed to study her, trying to gauge her intentions… or to assess the damage already inflicted. There was also something else in those eyes, and it was reluctance. Possibly because he had put himself in that position when he had told her that he had another relationship going on. And she, too, was with someone else.

Lisa took a deep, shaky breath and backed off, leaning in the seat for a moment. She rubbed her eyes, then decided that Michael deserved some reprieve. Whatever had happened, almost happened, or not happened at all, she had been more than a willing participant. So maybe instead of being mad at him, the right thing to do was to take a long, hard look at herself and wonder why she was still there.

Speaking of which.

“You know what? I think I need some sleep… I’m gonna head back home before it gets really late…” She chuckled, but she knew she was not believable at all. “Danny will bring the kids back first thing tomorrow, so…”

Michael’s body, up until that point tense and ready to strike, seemed to deflate. He blinked, then smiled a smile that looked more sad and regretful than anything else.

“Sure… Absolutely. Hey…” He rose from the chair and straightened his jacket in an automatic gesture. “Let me walk you to your car.”

Lisa too was now standing, and they were face to face.

“No need… I know the way out.” She smiled at him, a sweet smile. “Thank you for… everything, really. It was fun.”

“Yeah, it was.”

He just stood there, watching her as she started walking toward the exit of the theater. Then, when she reached the central corridor, she looked hesitant, caught in some internal struggle. She turned and walked back to him quickly, pulling him into an embrace for a moment. Michael’s arms closed around her and she felt his heartbeat racing in his chest. Reaching up, she brought his head down and kissed his forehead.

“It’s gonna be OK. This fucking thing with the tape… We’ll see through it.”

Before he could even reply or do anything, she ran away.

Michael felt frozen in place. A part of him wanted nothing more than run after her, stop her, turn her and kiss her. But he knew – he could not do that. It was over. Whatever they had and whatever they had been to one another. And he also knew that if he stopped her, it would kill him to see her leave again.

So he just stood there for a minute. When he heard Lisa’s car speed off, he kicked the food box on the floor, sending Kuku everywhere.

“Goddamnit…”

Running his hand through his hair, he decided to clean up the mess himself. He didn’t want the staff to have to take care of his childish outbursts.